US & World News

Bear Attack Injures 10-Year-old boy in Yellowstone Park

Initital Investigations Allege the Bear was a Grizzly Bear

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A bear charged a family hiking in Yellowstone National Park on Thursday, knocking down and injuring a 10-year-old boy before his parents were able to drive the animal off with bear spray, park officials said. The unidentified boy from Washington state was transferred to a hospital for puncture wounds to his back, wounds around his buttocks…

Ex-CDC Director Thomas Frieden Arrested on sex Abuse Charge

He is Charged With Forcible Touching, sex Abuse and Harassment

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)NEW YORK (AP) — A former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been arrested in New York on a sex abuse charge. The New York Police Department says Thomas Frieden was arrested on Friday morning in Brooklyn. WABC says Frieden surrendered to face charges that he grabbed the buttocks of a…

Iowa Student Killed by ‘Sharp Force Injuries’

No Details About What Caused the Injuries

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) – Preliminary autopsy results show that Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was killed by “multiple sharp force injuries.” The state medical examiner has determined that Tibbetts’ death was a homicide. No details were released about what caused the sharp force injuries. The agency says further examination may result in additional findings. The Division of Criminal…

Sears to Close Another 46 Stores in November

As of May 5, Sears had About 894 Stores

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Sears Holdings Corp. is closing another 13 Kmart stores and 33 Sears stores as sales shrink and losses grow. The ailing company said Thursday that liquidation sales at the 46 unprofitable stores marked for closure will start Aug. 30, and the stores will close in November. The company said it informed its workers. The move…

Manafort Juror Says one Holdout Prevented 18-Count Conviction

The Federal Jury Found Manafort Guilty on Eight Counts

(Dana Verkouteren via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — A juror in Paul Manafort’s financial fraud trial says a lone holdout prevented the jury from convicting the onetime Trump campaign chairman on all 18 counts. Jurors repeatedly tried to persuade the holdout to “look at the paper trail” but she insisted there was reasonable doubt, juror Paula Duncan told Fox News. “We…

Herbalife Distributors Claim in $1B Suit Events Were a Sham

Herbalife’s Website Says it has About 2.3 Million Distributors

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)MIAMI (AP) — Patricia and Jeff Rodgers figured they did everything right to get rich beyond their wildest dreams selling Herbalife health and personal care products. They attended all of the “Circle of Success” events, brought in new recruits, met their quotas on buying Herbalife goods to sell and even set up a storefront shop. But they…

Flight Attendant Mistakes air Marshal for Passenger With gun

The Airline is Working With Investigators

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A federal air marshal was removed from a United Airlines flight in Minneapolis after a flight attendant mistook him for a gun-carrying passenger. The Transportation Safety Administration says the marshal was apprehended along with another marshal after Flight 3531 landed Monday night at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. According to the agency, the marshal was on official business….

Minnesota Task Force Addresses Affordable Housing Shortage

They Suggest Building 300,000 new Homes by 2030

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota housing task force is recommending broad changes in funding, technology and regulation to meet a statewide demand for affordable housing. Minnesota Public Radio News reports that the task force has made 30 recommendations and identified six goals to improve access to housing. Gov. Mark Dayton appointed the task force last year. The task…

Immigrant Charged With Murder of Iowa College Student

The Charge Carries a Manadatory Life in Prison

(Iowa Department of Public Safety via AP) MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A man from Mexico living in the U.S. illegally has confessed to kidnapping college student Mollie Tibbetts while she was running in her small Iowa hometown, killing her and dumping her body in a rural field, authorities said Tuesday. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was arrested and charged with first-degree…

Cohen Pleads Guilty to Charges Involving Hush Money

Sentencing Could be From 46 to 63 Months

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, has pleaded guilty to charges including campaign finance fraud stemming from hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal. The 51-year-old Cohen said in federal court in New York on Tuesday that he made the payments in coordination with Trump,…

Ex-Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Guilty of Eight Charges

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Paul Manafort, the longtime political operative who for months led Donald Trump’s winning presidential campaign, was found guilty of eight financial crimes Tuesday in the first trial victory of the special counsel investigation into the president’s associates. A judge declared a mistrial on 10 other counts the jury could not agree on. The verdict was part…

Officials Believe Body of Iowa Student Mollie Tibbetts Found

Information is not Available Regarding the Location of the Body

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Investigators believe they have found the body of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who has been missing for more than a month. The 20-year-old woman was last seen July 18, jogging in her hometown of Brooklyn in central Iowa. Greg Willey, the vice president of Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa, says a body…

PepsiCo Buys SodaStream for $3.2 Billion

JERUSALEM (AP) — PepsiCo bought carbonated drink maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion on Monday, a move the beverage giant hopes will further help it adjust as consumers drink less traditional soda and opt more for flavored waters and other drinks. The deal is also a boon to SodaStream, which has enjoyed a resurgence after being targeted by anti-Israel boycotters in…

Pence’s Return Highlights White House’s Focus on Minnesota

The White House is Focused on Minnesota Ahead of Election

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence is heading back to Minnesota. Minnesota Republican Party chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan announced Monday that Pence will return to Minnesota Aug. 30 and will be stopping in Bloomington for a fundraising event. It’s the latest evidence of the White House’s keen focus on Minnesota ahead of an election filled with competitive races…

Police work to stop overdoses after 76 fall ill

(AP) – Police swarmed a Connecticut park near Yale University and searched people’s homes for drugs Thursday in an effort to prevent more overdoses from a batch of synthetic marijuana blamed for sending more than 70 people to the hospital. Social workers and mental health professionals also responded to the New Haven Green, where most of the overdoses happened Wednesday….

Woman Sues Surgeon who Wrongly Removed her Kidney

The Surgery was Supposed to Remove an Adrenal Gland and Mass

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – An Iowa woman is suing a South Dakota surgeon and his practice for wrongly removing one of her kidneys. The lawsuit filed by Dena Knapp alleges that Dr. Scott Baker erroneously removed her healthy right kidney instead of removing an adrenal gland and a mass on the gland during a surgery in Sioux Falls in…

Student Stabbed on First day of School in Oklahoma

The Student has Been Airlifted to a Hospital

LUTHER, Okla. (AP) – Investigators say a student has been airlifted to a hospital after a stabbing at a central Oklahoma high school. Oklahoma County sheriff’s spokesman Mark Opgrande says deputies were called to Luther High School in the small town of Luther following the reported stabbing Thursday morning. Opgrande says a student suspected in the attack is in custody….

‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin has died

Franklin was 76 Years old

(AP Photo/Shea Walsh, file)DETROIT (AP) — Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul” who sang with matchless style on such classics as “Think,” ″I Say a Little Prayer” and her signature song, “Respect,” and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, has died at age 76 from advance pancreatic cancer. Publicist Gwendolyn Quinn tells The Associated Press through a…

Researchers Look Into Lake Superior Algae Bloom

Researchers Will Know by end of Week if Bloom is Toxic

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – Scientists are investigating an unprecedented algae bloom in Lake Superior and have sent samples for lab testing to determine if it’s toxic. Minnesota Public Radio reports that kayakers and other visitors to the popular lake shore along eastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin found green scummy algae last week on Lake Superior’s surface. Robert Sterner directs the…

Vermont Nominates 1st US Transgender Candidate for Governor

Hallquist Defeated Three Other Democrats

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)WASHINGTON (AP) – A former utility executive from Vermont has become the first transgender candidate to win a major political party’s nomination for governor. Christine Hallquist defeated three other Democrats en route to victory in Tuesday’s primary. The former CEO of the Vermont Electric Cooperative says she’s running because she feels she has the best plan to help…

Jury Awards $289M to man who Blames Roundup for Cancer

Monsanto has Denied a Link Between Glyphosate and Cancer

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A jury’s $289 million award to a former school groundskeeper who said Monsanto’s Roundup left him dying of cancer will bolster thousands of pending cases and open the door for countless people who blame their suffering on the weed killer, the man’s lawyers said. “I’m glad to be here to be able…

Devastating Toxic Algae Bloom Plagues Florida’s Gulf Coast

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. (AP) — Tons of dead fish. A smell so awful you gag with one inhale. Empty beaches, empty roads, empty restaurants. A toxic algae bloom has overrun Florida’s southern Gulf Coast this summer, devastating sea life and driving people from the water. “I’ve never seen it this bad,” said 31-year-old Heather Lamb of Venice. She’s…

Cars Plunge as Highway Bridge Collapses in Italy; 22 Dead

A 260 Foot Stretch of the Bridge Collapsed

(Vigili Del Fuoco via AP)MILAN (AP) — A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed Tuesday in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging  nearly 150 feet into a heap of rubble below. A transport official said at least 22 people were killed and eight injured in the tragedy. A…

Lawmakers vow Action on Google Location Tracking

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Google records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to. An Associated Press investigation shows that using Google services on Android devices and iPhones allows the company to record your whereabouts as you go about your day, even if you’ve used privacy settings that are supposed to prevent it from doing so….

Florida Parking lot Shooter Charged in “Stand Your Ground” Case

Drejka has Been Charged with Manslaughter

(Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Florida prosecutors have charged a white man in the death of an unarmed black man whose videotaped shooting in a store parking lot has revived debate over Florida’s “stand your ground” law. The Pinellas County State Attorney Bernie McCabe said Monday that 47-year-old Michael Drejka has been charged…

Trump Tweets About Harley-Davidson Boycott

New Tariffs Could Cost the Company $100 Million Annually

NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump is backing calls for a Harley-Davidson boycott amid an ongoing steel tariff dispute. Harley-Davidson drew Trump’s wrath in June after the manufacturer announced it is moving production of motorcycles sold in Europe to facilities outside the U.S. The company blames the decision on tariffs imposed by the European Union to retaliate for tariffs…

Crocs to outsource manufacturing of clogs, other footwear

They are Also Focusing on More Online Sales

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) NIWOT, Colo. (AP) — Colorado-based footwear company Crocs Inc. is closing company-owned manufacturing plants in Italy and Mexico by year’s end and replacing its chief financial officer. The company announced the outsourcing of additional manufacturing and the closure of a distribution facility in Mexico Tuesday while reporting a second-quarter profit of $30.4 million, or 35 cents…

NFL Players Protest During Anthem, Drawing Rebuke From Trump

There has Been no Change in the NFL’s Policy Regarding the National Anthem

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)(AP) – NFL players demonstrated during the national anthem at several preseason games Thursday night, protests that again drew a rebuke from President Donald Trump. Writing on Twitter from his New Jersey golf resort, Trump said Friday players “make a fortune doing what they love,” and those who refuse to stand “proudly” for the anthem should be suspended…

Trump Going Ahead With Taxes on $16B in Chinese Imports

The new Tariffs are in Addition to Existing Tariffs

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will go ahead with imposing 25 percent tariffs on an additional $16 billion in Chinese imports. Customs officials will begin collecting the border tax Aug. 23, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said. The list is heavy on industrial products such as steam turbines…

General Electric Laying off 200 Workers at Turbine Plant

GE Laid off 130 Workers in January

(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) – General Electric says it’s laying off 200 hourly workers at its upstate New York plant that produces steam turbines for the company’s power unit. Boston-based GE announced Tuesday that the layoffs include unionized manufacturing and assembly employees at its facilities in Schenectady, where Thomas Edison co-founded the company in 1892. Another 25 unfilled…

California Appeals Ruling to let Border Wall Proceed

Trump Needs $25 Billion Over 10 Years for the Border Wall

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A federal appeals court will hear arguments Tuesday by the state of California and advocacy groups who contend the Trump administration overreached by waiving environmental reviews to speed construction of the president’s prized border wall with Mexico. California is appealing a decision by U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of San Diego, who sided with…

Apple surges to $1 trillion in market value

Apple is the First Publicly Traded Company to hit $1 Trillion

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is worth $1,001,679,220,000. The maker of the iPhone and other gadgets became the world’s first publicly traded company with a market value of $1 trillion on Thursday. The company reached the milestone a couple of hours into the trading session when its shares reached $207.04. They closed with a gain of 2.9 percent to…

Officials Responding to Active Shooter Reports at Base

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Federal authorities say they’re responding to reports of an active shooter at an Air Force base in Ohio, and the base is on lockdown. Security forces and other emergency responders are outside the hospital at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said via Twitter it’s among several agencies…

TSA Considering Ending Screening at Small Airports

TSA Says no Decision has Been Made

WASHINGTON (AP) – The TSA is considering ending screening of passengers at smaller airports across the country to focus security efforts at the largest airports. It is unclear how advanced the proposal is and whether it will ever be adopted. Still, aviation-security experts reacted with alarm, saying it could make flights at smaller airports inviting targets for terrorists. CNN reported…

Wells Fargo to pay $2.1 Billion for Role in Housing Bubble

NEW YORK (AP) — Wells Fargo is agreeing to pay a $2.1 billion fine to settle allegations it misrepresented the types of mortgages it sold to investors during the housing bubble and subsequent financial crisis. The amount is smaller than fines paid by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and other big banks in the years following the financial…

NBA Strikes Deal With MGM Resorts to Provide Data to Bettors

This is a Multiyear Arrangement

NEW YORK (AP) – The NBA and WNBA will now share official data with MGM Resorts, a major win for the leagues as they prepare for the anticipated growth of sports betting across the country. MGM will pay the NBA for that data to use in determining outcomes of various bets. The NBA’s stance has been that getting accurate stats…

Video of Abuse at pig Farm Also Highlights Common Practices

the Video was Released Earlier This Month by Mercy for Animals

(Mercy For Animals via AP)DENVER (AP) — Recently released undercover video showing pigs being kicked, hit and punched at a Kentucky supplier for the world’s largest meat producer drew prompt condemnation from animal rights groups and the agricultural industry alike. However, the images sandwiched in between — adult pigs in cages barely bigger than their bodies and a piglet squealing…

Facebook Finds ‘Sophisticated’ Efforts to Disrupt Elections

The Company Removed 32 Accounts

(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)NEW YORK (AP) – Facebook says it has uncovered “sophisticated” efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to influence U.S. politics on its platforms. The company says it removed 32 accounts from Facebook and Instagram because they were involved in “coordinated” behavior and appeared to be fake. The company says it doesn’t know who is behind the efforts, but…

States Suing Trump Administration, Company Over 3D Guns

At Least 1,000 People Have Already Downloaded AR-15 Blueprintes

(Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File) (AP) – Eight states are filing suit against the Trump administration over its decision to allow a Texas company to publish downloadable blueprints for a 3D-printed gun, contending the hard-to-trace plastic weapons are a boon to terrorists and criminals and threaten public safety. The suit, filed Monday in Seattle, asks a judge to block…

Duck Boat Owners Being Sued for $100 Million

Boat Sank This Month Killing 17

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-The owners and operators of a tourist boat that sank this month in Missouri, killing 17 people, put profits over people’s safety when they decided to put the Ride the Ducks boat on a lake despite design problems and warnings of severe weather, a lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City seeks…

World Gazes at Total Lunar Eclipse, Longest of This Century

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Curiosity and awe have greeted a complete lunar eclipse, the longest one of this century and visible in much of the world. The so-called “blood moon,” when it turns a deep red, was visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon lined up perfectly, casting Earth’s shadow…

Ford Recalls 550K Vehicles That can Roll Away Unexpectedly

Dealers Will Replace the Part at no Cost

(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling about 550,000 cars and SUVs in North America to fix a gearshift problem that could cause the vehicles to roll away unexpectedly. The recall covers certain 2013 through 2016 Fusion sedans and some 2013 and 2014 Escape small SUVs. Ford says a bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission…

US Economy Surges to 4.1 Percent Growth Rate in Q2

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy surged in the April-June quarter to an annual growth rate of 4.1 percent. That’s the fastest pace since 2014, driven by consumers who began spending their tax cuts and exporters who rushed to get their products delivered ahead of retaliatory tariffs. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that…

Walz Calls for gas tax Increase, Opens Door to Other Hikes

Walz Says he Couln't Rule out Other tax Increases

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Rep. Tim Walz says he’d push to raise the state’s gasoline tax if elected governor to pay for infrastructure improvements. The Democratic congressman included that measure as part of a broader policy package he released with mayors and leaders from across Minnesota on Thursday. Walz called Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton’s failed push for a hike…

Facebook Market Value Plunges $119 Billion

Grappling with Privacy Issues has Sent Stocks Tumbling

(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)NEW YORK (AP) — The 19 percent loss in Facebook’s stock chopped $119 billion off its market value. It was the company’s worst trading day since going public in 2012, and among the biggest one-day losses of market value in U.S. stock market history. The loss came a day after Facebook revealed that its user base and revenue…

Barbie Maker Mattel to cut More Than 2,200 Jobs

A Spokesman Said job Cuts Will Affect Mainly its Office Workers

(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)NEW YORK (AP) — Mattel, hurt by the closing of Toys R Us stores, said Wednesday that it will cut more than 2,200 jobs as the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars seeks to save money. Like other toy companies, Mattel has lost sales as Toys R Us faltered. The toy retailer filed for bankruptcy…

Brock Turner Appeals Sexual Assault Conviction

Turner is Required to Register as a sex Offender for Life

(Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group via AP, File) SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A lawyer for former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner argued Tuesday that his client’s attempted rape conviction should be overturned. Turner never intended to rape an unconscious woman, he said. Eric Malthaup told a California appeals court in San Jose that Turner had his clothes on when…

Taco Bell Salsa Con Queso Cheese Dip Recalled for Botulism Risk

If you Experience any Symptoms Seek Immediate Medical Attention

PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE) – As a precaution, approximately 7,000 cases of Taco Bell Salsa Con Queso Mild Cheese Dip are being voluntarily recalled because the affected product is showing signs of product separation which can lead to a potential health hazard. This could create conditions that could allow for the growth of Clostridiumbotulinum ( C. botulinum ), a bacterium…

Farmers Prefer Trump do Trade Deals Than Hand Them Cash

Farmers Feel This is a Short Term Solution

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Many farmers remain critical of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the damage done to commodity prices and markets but were appreciative Tuesday that he offered to provide some cash to help offset their losses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $12 billion three-part plan that would borrow money from the U.S. Treasury to pay…